One simple statement: The Signature will drive ANY speaker : )
Honestly though, whether or not it is a good sonic match for your speakers or system is another matter. I would say that the amp is very quick and clean but lacks the extreme "punch" or bottom end "slam" of some other potent "monster sized" amps. While Carver's circuitry is extremely efficient, it does not have the instantaneous power supply reserve that is required to "pile drive" a massive woofer array on demand. This is not to say that the bass is weak or sloppy, it just doesn't have massive "impact" like a Krell or big Perreaux, etc...
Nonetheless, it can deliver the goods and never seems to run out of steam no matter what you throw at it. Mids and treble are capable of being quite sweet and airy IF properly matched. Keep in mind that you will need a dedicated HEAVY DUTY power line to get full output out of this amp. This might not be a problem if you listen at lower levels or have pretty efficient speakers. Either way though, i would still recommend a dedicated line for best results.
I have some very inefficient sealed towers that are low impedance that i used to biamp. With 400 wpc on top and 600 wpc on the bottom, i could still drive the amps into compression. I replaced the two amps with one Sunfire Signature (1200 wpc @ 4) and it was a "done deal". Louder and WAY cleaner. The Signature NEVER sounds strained nor does it get "cookin' hot" like the other two hi-bias amps used to. While i did lose some bottom end "slam", the overall amp swap was a BIG improvement.
Keep an eye out for which version of this amp your looking at. There are a couple of different versions floating around. While the earliest ones had a captive power cord, they also had their best large gauge metal binding posts. These could take at least 10 gauge wire and maybe even 8. While some of the mid period models had captive power cords and some had IEC jacks, they all had cheezy red and black plastic knobbed binding posts commonly found on "mass market" amps. The latest production models have removable IEC power cords and use Monster metal binding posts. Still not as good as their original metal posts, but MUCH better than the plastic ones.
A really good price on a used one is in the range of $1500 - $1800 if in mint shape. I typically see them listed for $1800 - $2300 or so. I snagged my Sunfire Signature from Dr. Craig of Nearfield Acoustics ( aka Pipe Dreams ) for a very good price with full warranty. I use it to drive the mains in my HT system with a Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature to drive the center, surrounds and subs. If you have any specific questions about these units, feel free to email me. Sean
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